Cooper, who has apologized after being caught on video using a racial slur in an argument with an African-American security guard at a June concert, has been fined an undisclosed amount by the team and ordered by the organization to undergo sensitivity training.

He apologized to teammates hours after the video became public Wednesday, and many - like Williams - said they had forgiven him.

But Williams said Thursday that healing the broken trust will take time because the racial slur "puts a damper to my spirits to what type of person he is. I'm more cautious now to approach him."

In the video, Cooper vowed to "jump that fence and fight every (N-word) here, bro."

Williams, a former Baltimore Ravens cornerback who was still getting to know Cooper, said he was crushed.

"This is hard to talk about, man. It's tough, me being an African American and to say that hurts me," Williams said after practice. "It's a derogatory word. I don't know him. I did see the tape. It's disheartening for a guy to say something like that.

"You're angry. There are several other words he could have said. But he used something that was over the top."

Williams was asked if he can put Cooper's epithet behind him.

"It takes time, man," he said. "It's something Riley has the potential to learn from and understand the harshness of how he came at that guy. I'm a forgiving person. So we can't throw the book at the guy, can't disown him. We can get through it, eventually. But right now it's fresh.

"In the locker room, he seemed like a pretty cool dude. He didn't seem like a racist. I just think he made a mistake."

Williams underscored why Cooper needs to understand how deep his slur cut in the black community.

"I think about what our ancestors have done, like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, people who fought for civil rights in this country against people using those type of words," Williams said. "We look at the media, rap artists, some people in the locker room, that word gets tossed around.

"I think about my grandmother, my great grandmother, who endured being called that name and being segregated - how the potency of that word gets thrown around like an everyday thing. We as a black community pounce on somebody who uses it in a derogatory way when there are times that we use it freely."

He added: "There is no place for that word in anybody's language, anybody's mouth, whether you're black, white, green, purple, blue. It's still a harsh word.''

Deborah Weinstein, a Philadelphia employment lawyer and president of the Weinstein Firm, which provides group and individual sensitivity training, said Cooper probably can expect two sessions, roughly three hours long, with an employment lawyer or human resources professional.

A short-term stint in sensitivity training isn't intended to change a person's core beliefs, but rather to promote respectful behavior within a work environment, Weinstein said. For Cooper, this means how he will act in a locker room that includes many African-American teammates.

"The important thing, when we are reacting to something that has already happened, is to drive home to the individual that they need to take this very, very seriously. There are no second chances after this," Weinstein said. "We want to intervene and make a difference - so the employer has sense of confidence that this sort of thing won't happen again."

There will be no second chances in the locker room, either.

"I know Riley is very sorry. But he can't undo the damage,'' receiver Jason Avant said. "You have to let it go, or else it will create an atmosphere of the whites in this corner or the blacks in this corner. And we definitely don't want that as a team. Or as a society."

Cooper said in his meeting Wednesday with owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and coach Chip Kelly, "the counseling is something we came to an agreement on. I'm definitely going to do it.'' He said he would donate his fine to charity, speak individually with each teammate and apologize to the security guard.

"Hopefully, he'll see how much I mean it, how sincere I am," Cooper said.

Asked if the incident could divide his locker room, Kelly said "there is a concern.'' He added: "I know Riley made a heinous mistake. I was appalled, because I've been here since April, and that's not the Riley Cooper I know."

Avant remained optimistic.

"I don't think it will divide our locker room," he said. "The most mature thing is to not go by your feeling. We saw what that can do."